Bicycling has been in the news a lot this week. E&E News reports that China is trying to get people back onto bicycles in an attempt to address traffic problems. The city of Zhongshan has launched a bike-sharing system with 4,000 bikes; Hangzhou and Shanghai have systems with 50,000 and 19,000 bikes, respectively. Reporter Coco […]
Something that’s come up in a couple of the different sessions I’ve attended at the American Public Health Association annual meeting is the problem of inadequate definitions of success. It’s important to set targets and measure progress against them – and missing targets can be a signal that it’s time to revise the strategy. But […]
by Kim Krisberg Mark Martin isn’t inclined to sit down and shut up — well, unless it’s on the seat of a bicycle. “More people need joy in their lives and there’s a real simple way to get it: ride a bicycle,” Martin told me. “It’s a joyous thing to ride a bike.” The Baton […]
By Jay Graham Global Handwashing Day is coming up on October 15, and events in its honor will be occurring all week. Children are a key focus of handwashing campaigns. Diarrhea continues as the second leading cause of death in kids under 5 years of age globally. Nearly one in every five child deaths, around […]
Environmental Health
50 serious safety violations and $917,000 penalty don’t jive with corporate PR about integrity, safety, responsibility
One Middleton, Massachusetts resident thought it was an earthquake. Others said it sounded like a sonic boom. When Mr. Charlie Veradt heard the explosion, he said “I knew right off the bat that it was down the street,” referring to the Bostik Inc. chemical plant owned by the global giant, petrochemical firm TOTAL. Just before […]
by Elizabeth Grossman Why some people who inhaled the airborne contaminants unleashed by the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 became sick for only a short time, why some have become chronically ill, and others terminally ill, may never be known. What is known, however, is that the dust and aerosols […]
DC’s Capital Bikeshare program has had a fantastic first year. Stations full of sturdy red bikes have been popping up all over the city, and the system logged its one millionth ride one the eve of its first anniversary. Members can take a bike from any of the more than 100 stations, and the ride […]
Environmental Health
Beware of Congressmen who claim they are cutting red tape, health and safety protections are on the chopping block
Funny how a bill touted by Members of Congress as one that will “cut red tape” will actually add a dozen new steps before a rule to protect people’s health or safety is put in place. Last week, several Republican and Democratic Senators and Representatives did just that when they introduced the “Regulatory Accountability Act” […]
Environmental Health
Ten years later World Trade Center dust has not yet settled: NYCOSH conference highlights persistent gaps in regulation
by Elizabeth Grossman It’s now ten years since the streets of lower Manhattan roiled with clouds of toxic dust and debris from the horrific events of September 11, 2001, but it was clear from discussions and presentations at the September 16 conference hosted by the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) that […]
As Jori Lewis notes in the case study about World Trade Center recovery workers’ health and safety, those who showed up at Ground Zero on the days and weeks after 9/11 got some misleading information about the risks they faced. Most notably, the EPA issued reassuring statements about the air quality – when, according to […]